>> japanese look back on the day everything changed. people across northeastern japan are walking along the paths to recovery. it has been a year and a half. on this the 18 month anniversary, we are reflecting on what happened and what's changed. at 2:46 p.m. on march 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck. the violent tremor triggered a tsunami that swept through towns

and cities. the earthquake and tsunami caused melt downs in three reactors. we will hear how the disaster affected people. we will share their stories and hear about their challenges. some of the people got up today to remember those they lost. >> i still don't feel at ease now. >> i found i could pray calmly.

>> about 17,000 trees used to stand in the pine forest. this is the only one that survives a tsunami. it became a symbol of hope. workers will treat the tree and try to preserve it in the same location. >> translator: we are the ones who have to pass on the stories of the disaster to the next generation. i came here to remember the scene. >> people in this town organized a memorial service for the victims a t the town hall. officials came out to remember their families and friends. a 70-year-old woman who lost her daughter also attended the service. the daughter worked for the town

office. >> i should have come here to pray for my daughter but i couldn't bring myself to do it. now i am here and i have to apologize to her. >> you have returned to our town many times to report on its construction. how have things changed over the past 18 months? >> what used to be the tenter of town, more than 550 people were killed and many others are still listed as missing. >> town officials left several damaged buildings standing after the kwis disaster. crews started tearing them down. workers are building an insen

ration to take care of rest. officials have turned this area into a park and a base for the fishing industry. for some that's progress. for others it's a source of concern. visitors have come to see what was once the disaster manager's office. they put that plan on hold. a reminder of the earthquake and sue ma knee. people are deviced over fears that they will forget the past. >> it's still hard for us to see any sign of reconstruction here. a lot of residents are moving to different areas. i hope to see concrete measures

soon to that people won't leave town. >> people have been working to rebuild one of their key industries. it's part of japan and has some of the world's richest fishing grounds but they destroyed parts up and down the coast. the government is standing about $10 billion to try to turn things around. less than 60% than they were before the disaster. one of the disasters is debris. it left about 3.5 million tons of concrete, wood. now many are banding together to help clean it up.

>> some i havors have plunges into the ocean. divers from all over japan are collecting debris swept into the waters. pieces of fishing boats, a briefcase, a kitchen sink. >> sit a diving instructor. he learned to drive here. right after the disaster. >> there are still many places we haven't started cleaning up yet. they look just the same as they did a year and a half ago. >> the tsunami destroyed a eed

all along the coast. a month after the disaster, he and his friends got work. cleaning up under water requires advanced diving skills and physical strength.

>> on this day, she asked him to inspect part of the seabed that has already been cleaned up. >> this makes me happy. >> he also found a rare type of grass, a nursery for young fish. schools of baby fish with yellow tail it seems to have bounced

back. >> it is truly rich and magnificent. i'm really proud of that. that's why i want to do whatever i can to contribute and make it more beautiful. >> no one knows how long it will take. nhk world. >> government authorities have said they will clean up the seabed.

>> remove bigger pieces of debris such as houses, boats, and cars. >> if we clean the sea, the fish will come back. >> how are you using this operation to inform people about the clean up in the northeast? >> i think people will forget about tsunami in a few years. i want to tell people about seabed debris issues.

individuals who want to learn about the state of the association. i want t expand the exchanges so people continue to be interested in what is going on. >> thank you very much. >> now the waves swept through many areas into farmland. damages topped more than $10 million. now farmers have set out to revive their imagery.

>> he has grown rice and vegetables for more than four decades. things are not much better this year. >> translator: it's been about three months since we planted the crop. it should be ready by now but we can't sell it. it's not edible. >> the earthquake and tsunami damaged 22,000 hectors of farmland. including 10% oover the fields here. so, government officials.

>> workers have only cleaned up about half the problem. the other half remain untouched. >> they are trying to develop a variety of rice that can this rooif in this harsh environment. >> we would like to kre item a variety of rice that is resis tent to samt pollution. >> experiments suggest the process can turn other grains of rice into ones immune to salt.

researchers have found only about one in every hundred irradiated grains will grow into a plant that survives. but then, they will be able to use all the grains from that plant. >> farmers have other plants, too. drug makers use its roots in various medications including one to treat stomach ulcers. people in japan use about 3,000 tons last year. they imported almost all of it.

>> i saw many plants in the pea family grow in salt damaged fields. >> provided seedlings to plant. >> i'm surprised they have grown bigger than expected. this lorice is growing well. >> the only thing i can do is work step by step by going up stairs gradually. >> he expects it will come in november. >> is not just cultivating vegetables. nhk world.

>> we will be there when people pray for the victims at exactly 2:46 p.m. the moment the earthquake struck 18 months ago. >> thank you very much. reports in miagi prefecture. >ing -- melting uranium fuel within ten years. but first, employees have to locate cracks in the containment vessels. using endoe scopes and robots to

do the job. explosions severely damaged number four but left it fragile. the debris is still scattered in the pool and that could slow down the operation. managers say they will run out of workers in five years unless they can find a way to reduce the exposure to radiation. >> commercial fishing has been extended on an experimental basis. restarting full scale fishing may take some time because high levels of radiation have been detected in fish caught in other prefectures. >> commercial fishing was restarted on an experimental basis. on monday, almost 18 months, cooperatives began fishing five

times. they intend to sell if they show no contamination. registered 33 times over the limit. only low levels of radio active cesium have been detected in the water. it is now being transferred to some kinds of fish. the cause of the contamination should be studied according to the fish species to get an idea of the spread of the contamination. >> japan's leaders are responding to critics who say that ties are too cozy between the government and nuclear

regulators. finalized plans for a new nuclear watch dog that will be likely independent of the government. >> the new commission will replace the industrial safety agency. that is controlled by the finding which is promoted on clear power. the industry was criticized for lack of independence following last year's disaster. >> i expect the mission to make every effort to win public understanding. people will see that nuclear regulation has changed for the better.

lawmakers in somalia have elected an academic as their new president. hassan sheikh mohamud will lead the first official government since the country plunged into civil war 21 years ago. members of parliament chose mohamud in a runoff vote in outgoing president sheikh ahmed. mohamud is a university professor and political newcomer. he launched his own party last year. he was not initially considered a strong candidate. mohamud will be challenged to end fighting with militants who control much of central and

southern somalia. and he'll have to deal with separatist aspirations in the northern region of somaliland. the new u.n. arab league envoy to syria says his top priority is stopping the blood shed. lakhdar brahimi is expected to visit damascus in a few days to meet with president bashar al assad. brahimi met egyptian president mohamed morsi and arab lgue secretary general in cairo. brahimi says 5,000 people died in august alone. >> translator: the dangerous situation in syria will lead the whole region to collapse into turmoil. >> brahimi says he's ready to present a new peace plan to the government and opposition forces. he says the objective is to create a cease-fire and to bring stability, but he says he needs cooperation from four regional powers, egypt, saudi arabia, iran, and turkey. a general who defected from syria says he's against foreign military intervention. instead, former brigadier general talas is calling on other countries to provide material support for opposition forces including weapons. talas is one of the most senior commanders to defect from the assad regime. he spoke in an interview with a french tv network. talas said as government leaders kept lying, he came to believe in opposition calls for

democracy. he fled to france in july with the help of french intelligence agents. talas stressed it should be the syrian people who bring down the assad government. japanese scientists say they've made a discovery that could bring hope to men suffering from infertility. they found the new method by creating special in infertile mice. ogawa leads a team of researchers from yokohama city university. they put stem cells in a substance that simulates white blood cells together. then they injected that into cells from mice testicles. the new mice grew. the scientists used the special to create babies born through in vitro fertilization. >> translator: first we need to continue our study to do the same with human sperm. and if we achieve that, we could use the same method for the diagnosis and also the treatment of men's infertility.

>> their findings will be published on the online issue of the u.s. science magazine, proceedings of the national academy of sciences. people in many areas of japan are dealing with heavy rain. sayaka mori gives us the latest in her weather forecast. >> hi there. strong frontal system has been dumping very heavy rain from hokkaido. it looks like stormy conditions will continue into tomorrow. an additional 150 millimeters possible into tomorrow afternoon. flooding and landslides will continue to be a big concern. a tropical depression to the south of japan. good news is that it will not intensify and it will likely stay over the waters for the next several days. this low pressure system is dumping tremendous amounts of rain. the heavy rain will be moving in as we head into tomorrow. forces south have got a newly

formed tropical storm. now producing gail force winds and seems it will move towards the north over the next few days. we will keep you posted on its progress. leslie could make landfall as a tropical system stays by tuesday morning. head towards the south of greenland. gusts could exceed 130 --

>> in parts of the nova scotia and newfoundland. flooding and landslides will be a concern. a high pressure system is keeping things dry across the eastern half of the u.s. then out. the north dry and windy conditions are ideal for wild fires in the north western corner of the u.s. as for the hijacking up to 29 degrees. that's about six degrees higher than monday. as for the south, 33 in oklahoma city. all right. finally let's go over to europe. it's quite wet and windy in the north western corner of europe.

very heavy rain is falling. and as the rain comes in, feeling the hot sign. it should be cooling down quite significantly as we head into thursday. for example, your highs are expected to be 26 degrees on tuesday. it should be cooling down to 17 degrees on thursday. 28 on tuesday. here is your extended forecast.

>> and that will do it for us on this edition of "newsline." thank you for watching.

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis: good evening.